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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: Flirting with the Enemy
Fandom: Romani Detective Original Fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,109
Summary: Andrej offers Zayne a bit of advice on how to handle James when he’s angry.
Author’s Note: Written for the Say What Friday challenge at 1_million_words. The prompt for April 5th was: "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." – Sun Tzu. Happy Easter everyone!
“What,” Zayne asked, giving Zeklos a bit of side-eye. He knew that he and the narco had been fighting a lot more than usual, but that was their way.
“Do you always have to antagonize one another, Zayne?” He folded another t-shirt and put it into the appropriate pile.
“He started it.”
“That is funny because Jay said you started it,” Zeklos said, continuing to methodically fold the pile of laundry on his bed.
“Zek, look –”
“Do not,” he said, putting down the pair of hot pink boxers he’d started to fold. “It is not necessary to fight with Jay every time you two have a disagreement. Whenever we do not agree, I let you have your say and I walk away.”
“That’s because you’re too damn nice,” Zayne muttered.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No,” he said, frowning. “Of course not. I love you and I don’t want to hurt you, ever.”
“Then why do you and Jay insist on hurting one another, knowing that that will eventually hurt me, too?”
That was a good damn question. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “I guess that he pisses me off and my first reaction is to fight back.”
“So you may win a battle here and there, but in the end, you’re going to lose the war, Zayne.” He picked up the brightly colored boxers again and folded them. “You and Jay are going to lose in the end, no matter who ‘wins’ the most.”
“And you’re going to lose more than any of us,” he said, finally realizing how much of a strain this all must be for him.
Zeklos shrugged and reached for an orange hoodie. He brought it to his nose briefly, smelling it as his eyes fluttered closed. Something hitched in Zayne’s chest at the sight. The hoodie had been his originally, but years ago, he’d loaned it to Zeklos only to lose it. Now, it made its way around the house, being worn by all three of them at times.
“Okay, so what should I do,” he asked. “There’s no way we’re ever going to stop arguing completely, it’s who we are.”
“I would never expect you to stop,” Zeklos said, folding the hoodie in half and laying it to the side. He’d hang it up later. “There are times when arguments are necessary. But the key to winning the war is to not fight unless it is needed.
“Sure,” he said. “That makes sense but, what do I do instead?”
“Subdue him,” Zeklos said. He lifted a pile of t-shirts and carried them out of the room and into the room the redhead used as his own.
“You want me to knock him out when he starts bitching?”
“No,” Zeklos laughed. “Pacify him, soothe him, calm him down.” He shrugged again. “I am sure you have your ways of doing such things.”
“Interesting,” Zayne said. “I’ll have to think about that.”
“Please do,” Zeklos said, putting the redhead’s shirts into a drawer and closing it.
**
“Goddamnit, Reyes,” James shouted from the living room. “Why can’t you ever pick up your shit?”
“How do you know that’s my beer and not yours?”
“Because I threw mine into the trash last night.”
“Shoulda gone into the recycling, narco,” Zayne shot back. He grinned and looked over at Zeklos who sighed and left the room. Shit, he’d already forgotten the conversation they’d had two hours ago. He promised Zek that he’d do better, he might as well start now.
“Don’t start with me, cowboy, because you’re not going to win today.”
“Wanna bet,” he said, knowing that he was taunting the ginger, but it was for a reason.
“Yeah,” he said. “Hit me with your best shot, gingerbread.”
James pointed a finger towards Zayne and started to retort. Zayne grabbed him by the wrist, yanked him forward, and laid a kiss on him. The redhead struggled and Zayne wrapped an arm around him, pulling him even deeper into the kiss. After a minute, James stopped struggling and relaxed into Zayne’s kiss.
Zayne let him go and grinned. “Do you feel better now?”
“No,” James said, pouting.
“Liar,” Zayne laughed.
“Admit it was your beer bottle, cowboy.”
“It might have been,” Zayne said. “I don’t really remember. It was late and I was tired.”
“And you had better things on your mind,” James teased.
“That, too,” he said, giving the redhead another quick kiss.
“You got those same things on your mind now?”
“I guess that depeneds.”
“On what?” James traced a finger down Zayne’s face.
“On whether the man who suggested that trick to calm you down is still around here or not.”
“Andy suggested you kiss me?”
“Nah,” Zayne said, nipping at the stubble along James’ jaw. “He suggested I subdue you and that was the only thing I could think of that might work.”
“It was a smart move,” James said. “But why are you concerned with where he is right now?”
“Because I think we need to show him a little appreciation.”
“Mmm,” James murmured. “I think you might be right. Andy?”
“Yes, Jay,” Andrej said, coming out of the kitchen, a cup of something in his hand.
“We were hoping you’d come back to bed with us,” he said, grinning.
“Sure,” Andrej said, shrugging. “Let me finish my drink first.”
Zayne laughed. “Shit, it’s three in the afternoon and he’s already hitting the hard stuff, narco.”
“How do you know that,” James asked. He approached Andrej and took the coffee mug out of his hand. “It just coffee.”
“No it is not,” Andrej chuckled.
James sniffed the cup and shook his head. “I don’t know what you added to this, but I think I like it.”
“I was not prepared for another argument this afternoon,” Andrej admitted. “The one earlier was more than I could handle.”
“So you fortified your nerves,” Zayne said, cuddling up against Andrej’s back, laying a kiss along his neck.
“I did.”
“I think this is going to be one hell of a long, enjoyable afternoon, gingerbread.”
“As long as he doesn’t pass out, I agree.”
“I have not had that much to drink,” Andrej protested. “Just enough so that I did not come out here and tell you both to find another place to live.”
Chuckling, James pressed himself against Andrej’s front. He kissed Andrej and then Zayne. “So, the bedroom?”
“You think we’ll make it that far, narco?”
James shrugged. “We can try,” he said.
“That is a bet I can allow the two of you to make,” Andrej said. “Because no matter who is right, we will all win in the end.”
Fandom: Romani Detective Original Fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,109
Summary: Andrej offers Zayne a bit of advice on how to handle James when he’s angry.
Author’s Note: Written for the Say What Friday challenge at 1_million_words. The prompt for April 5th was: "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." – Sun Tzu. Happy Easter everyone!
“What,” Zayne asked, giving Zeklos a bit of side-eye. He knew that he and the narco had been fighting a lot more than usual, but that was their way.
“Do you always have to antagonize one another, Zayne?” He folded another t-shirt and put it into the appropriate pile.
“He started it.”
“That is funny because Jay said you started it,” Zeklos said, continuing to methodically fold the pile of laundry on his bed.
“Zek, look –”
“Do not,” he said, putting down the pair of hot pink boxers he’d started to fold. “It is not necessary to fight with Jay every time you two have a disagreement. Whenever we do not agree, I let you have your say and I walk away.”
“That’s because you’re too damn nice,” Zayne muttered.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No,” he said, frowning. “Of course not. I love you and I don’t want to hurt you, ever.”
“Then why do you and Jay insist on hurting one another, knowing that that will eventually hurt me, too?”
That was a good damn question. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “I guess that he pisses me off and my first reaction is to fight back.”
“So you may win a battle here and there, but in the end, you’re going to lose the war, Zayne.” He picked up the brightly colored boxers again and folded them. “You and Jay are going to lose in the end, no matter who ‘wins’ the most.”
“And you’re going to lose more than any of us,” he said, finally realizing how much of a strain this all must be for him.
Zeklos shrugged and reached for an orange hoodie. He brought it to his nose briefly, smelling it as his eyes fluttered closed. Something hitched in Zayne’s chest at the sight. The hoodie had been his originally, but years ago, he’d loaned it to Zeklos only to lose it. Now, it made its way around the house, being worn by all three of them at times.
“Okay, so what should I do,” he asked. “There’s no way we’re ever going to stop arguing completely, it’s who we are.”
“I would never expect you to stop,” Zeklos said, folding the hoodie in half and laying it to the side. He’d hang it up later. “There are times when arguments are necessary. But the key to winning the war is to not fight unless it is needed.
“Sure,” he said. “That makes sense but, what do I do instead?”
“Subdue him,” Zeklos said. He lifted a pile of t-shirts and carried them out of the room and into the room the redhead used as his own.
“You want me to knock him out when he starts bitching?”
“No,” Zeklos laughed. “Pacify him, soothe him, calm him down.” He shrugged again. “I am sure you have your ways of doing such things.”
“Interesting,” Zayne said. “I’ll have to think about that.”
“Please do,” Zeklos said, putting the redhead’s shirts into a drawer and closing it.
**
“Goddamnit, Reyes,” James shouted from the living room. “Why can’t you ever pick up your shit?”
“How do you know that’s my beer and not yours?”
“Because I threw mine into the trash last night.”
“Shoulda gone into the recycling, narco,” Zayne shot back. He grinned and looked over at Zeklos who sighed and left the room. Shit, he’d already forgotten the conversation they’d had two hours ago. He promised Zek that he’d do better, he might as well start now.
“Don’t start with me, cowboy, because you’re not going to win today.”
“Wanna bet,” he said, knowing that he was taunting the ginger, but it was for a reason.
“Yeah,” he said. “Hit me with your best shot, gingerbread.”
James pointed a finger towards Zayne and started to retort. Zayne grabbed him by the wrist, yanked him forward, and laid a kiss on him. The redhead struggled and Zayne wrapped an arm around him, pulling him even deeper into the kiss. After a minute, James stopped struggling and relaxed into Zayne’s kiss.
Zayne let him go and grinned. “Do you feel better now?”
“No,” James said, pouting.
“Liar,” Zayne laughed.
“Admit it was your beer bottle, cowboy.”
“It might have been,” Zayne said. “I don’t really remember. It was late and I was tired.”
“And you had better things on your mind,” James teased.
“That, too,” he said, giving the redhead another quick kiss.
“You got those same things on your mind now?”
“I guess that depeneds.”
“On what?” James traced a finger down Zayne’s face.
“On whether the man who suggested that trick to calm you down is still around here or not.”
“Andy suggested you kiss me?”
“Nah,” Zayne said, nipping at the stubble along James’ jaw. “He suggested I subdue you and that was the only thing I could think of that might work.”
“It was a smart move,” James said. “But why are you concerned with where he is right now?”
“Because I think we need to show him a little appreciation.”
“Mmm,” James murmured. “I think you might be right. Andy?”
“Yes, Jay,” Andrej said, coming out of the kitchen, a cup of something in his hand.
“We were hoping you’d come back to bed with us,” he said, grinning.
“Sure,” Andrej said, shrugging. “Let me finish my drink first.”
Zayne laughed. “Shit, it’s three in the afternoon and he’s already hitting the hard stuff, narco.”
“How do you know that,” James asked. He approached Andrej and took the coffee mug out of his hand. “It just coffee.”
“No it is not,” Andrej chuckled.
James sniffed the cup and shook his head. “I don’t know what you added to this, but I think I like it.”
“I was not prepared for another argument this afternoon,” Andrej admitted. “The one earlier was more than I could handle.”
“So you fortified your nerves,” Zayne said, cuddling up against Andrej’s back, laying a kiss along his neck.
“I did.”
“I think this is going to be one hell of a long, enjoyable afternoon, gingerbread.”
“As long as he doesn’t pass out, I agree.”
“I have not had that much to drink,” Andrej protested. “Just enough so that I did not come out here and tell you both to find another place to live.”
Chuckling, James pressed himself against Andrej’s front. He kissed Andrej and then Zayne. “So, the bedroom?”
“You think we’ll make it that far, narco?”
James shrugged. “We can try,” he said.
“That is a bet I can allow the two of you to make,” Andrej said. “Because no matter who is right, we will all win in the end.”
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no subject
Date: 2019-04-21 06:47 pm (UTC)That works...lol
You got a typo. You spelt depends wrong.
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Date: 2019-04-21 07:14 pm (UTC)DOH. My dumb ass stiff fingers strike again! (Thanks though)
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Date: 2019-04-21 07:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-04-21 07:37 pm (UTC)